Vice President Kamala Harris wasn’t able to attend Thursday night’s Al Smith benefit dinner in New York, sending a video instead, while Donald Trump attended in person. Named after the first Catholic presidential candidate, the benefit dinner, hosted this year by Jim Gaffigan, is a longtime stop on the campaign circuit where candidates typically roast each other.
Harris, who was campaigning in Wisconsin, posted a video in which Molly Shannon appears as her “Saturday Night Live” character Mary Katherine Gallagher, a Catholic schoolgirl sporting a plaid skirt and uniform blouse.
Trump said he hoped Gaffigan’s gig as vice presidential candidate Tim Walz turns out to be a short one. “I’d like to thank our M.C. this evening, Jim Gaffigan,” Trump said. “Most recently, Jim has been playing Tim Walz on ‘Saturday Night Live.’ That’ll be a very short gig, Jim, but it was fun while it lasted!… Unfortunately, Governor Walz isn’t here himself. But don’t worry, he’ll say that he was.”
Meanwhile Gaffigan got in his own dig while mentioning Trump’s remarks about immigrants, saying “This is the second time grabbing a kitty has been part of a campaign issue.”
“The Al Smith Dinner provides a rare opportunity to set aside partisanship,” Harris says in the video as the flighty Catholic schoolgirl character begins to run back and forth behind her.
“It’s an important tradition that I’m so proud to be a part of,” Harris continues, inviting Shannon to advise her on what to say for her recorded speech.
“We need a woman to represent us,” Shannon says, explaining that her speech comes from “House of the Dragon, “With this woman, we can fly!”
“Is there anything you think I should bring up?” Harris asks. “Well, don’t lie,” Shannon responds. “Thou shall not bear false witness to thy neighbor.”
“Just so you know, there will be a fact-checker there tonight,” Shannon explains. “Who?” Harris asks, “Jesus,” Shannon replies.
“And don’t insult Catholics,” Shannon advises.
“I would never do that, no matter where I was,” Harris replies. “That would be like criticizing Detroit in Detroit” – an obvious jab at one of Trump’s recent speeches.
When Harris advises that Shannon “never let anyone tell you who they are, you tell them who you are,” Shannon quotes Taylor Swift back at her, saying “Haters gonna hate hate hate, shake it off.”
Watch Harris and Shannon below:
